The Urban Farm Podcast with Greg Peterson

A chat with Jenny Beasley.  In This Garden Chat: Jenny Beasley talks about her 12 years working with Heart for the City Community Garden in Arizona.  Grown from nothing more than a plot of dirt and a desire to help others, the garden is now a safe space where people exchange food and knowledge with neighbors from other cultures.  Jenny recalls the work it took to get the garden off the ground, describes the tending that was required to grow a strong sense of community, and expresses appreciation for the many people who keep it growing.On the last Tuesday every month we host The Urban Farm Garden Chats where Greg Peterson has a relaxed conversation in a Zoom room with a special guest to cover useful gardening topics, and they answer questions from the live listening audience. To join us for the next event, go to www.GardenChat.org or Click HERE to register for the Monthly Garden Chat with Live Q&AOur Special Guest: Jenny Beasley received her certification as a health coach at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City along with her Bachelors of Science in Business Administration from Northern Arizona University. She is currently the Director of Heart for the City Community Garden located in Glendale, AZ.  She became involved with Heart for the City twelve years ago, a non-profit that helps change lives of inner city at risk youth by walking life with them. She was asked to spearhead a 1/2-acre community revitalization project…. a community garden in which they educate Title 1 school children and their families on gardening and provide families ways of growing their own healthy foods.  Jenny decided to become a health coach to fulfill her passion of working with individuals to enhance their own well-being, and she is currently becoming a Master Gardener.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2022/01/28/656-garden-chat/ for show notes and links.

655: Culinary & Aromatic Herbs.A Chat with an Expert on Seeds.In This Podcast: This is the October 2021 Seed Saving Class with Bill McDorman discussing herbs. A garden without herbs is like ice cream without hot fudge. Herbs enhance any meal, and drinking teas made from herbs is healing and medicinal.  They can be perennial and annual allowing for many different planting opportunities, and they are usually easy to divide and reproduce. Bill and Greg explore this magical garden component. At least ten times a year we have a live Seed Saving Class. Join the class! Register anytime for the next event. Register Here for the Seed Saving Class with Live Q&ABill McDorman is Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance, Ketchum, Idaho. He got his start in the bio-regional seed movement while in college in 1979 when he helped start Garden City Seeds. In 1984, Bill started Seeds Trust/High Altitude Gardens, a mail order seed company he ran successfully until it sold in 2013.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2022/01/21/655-seed-chat/ for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library!

Building a Network of Neighborhood Compost Hubs.Do good and earn a profit? Sign us up!  Alyssa Brodsky explains Food2Soil, a program in San Diego that creates soil farmers, people who get paid for turning food scraps from homes and restaurants into rich compost.  She passionately describes how the program works, how she got involved, and the many ways the program has positively impacted both the environment and the participants.  Alyssa also provides some tips for anyone considering a similar program in their own community.Alyssa is a Soil Farmer at Food2Soil, as well as their "Web Builder", meaning she is working to expand the Food2Soil web of decentralized community composting hubs throughout the city of San Diego, including policy work and participant outreach. She served in the Peace Corps working in agriculture for 3 years in Madagascar and with her partner is starting her own market garden farm. Alyssa is fueled by outrage that food scraps are considered "waste", and by awe in the beauty of the composting process.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2022/01/14/654-alyssa-brodsky/ for show notes and links.Composting for Profit.

A Farmer Friday Reflection by Greg Peterson.In This Farmer Friday Podcast on Starting Fresh in 2022:Greg takes a few minutes at the beginning of this new year to acknowledge the challenges of the last couple of years and to highlight the importance of growing our own food.  He expresses gratitude for you, the Urban Farm community, and talks about ways we can support each other.  Then he walks us through the comforting rhythms of his year round-garden, describing in detail the tasks of each season and the bountiful harvests he enjoys as a result of his efforts.Do you ever wish you could catch those tidbits of wisdom that some people throw out without warning? Well, in our new Farmer Friday episodes - Farmer Greg shares quick thoughts, revelations, tips, and general farming advice in bite-sized and fun episodes. Sometimes it might be Greg just sharing a thought that hit him while working in the yard, or a really cool inspiration from the garden, and occasionally he’ll answer some listener questions. Other times he will catch a moment with a farming friend or podcast guest to share educational farming tidbits.  This quick podcast episode is designed to be brief and not take up your day. So… listen in and enjoy this Garden snack… Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2022/01/07/653-farmer-friday/ for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library!Starting Fresh in 2022.

Working to increase awareness about healthy food and personal health.In This Podcast:Shannon Owen shares the joys and struggles of starting a new farm business with her husband, Chris.  They saw a need in their community and decided to help by growing microgreens in their basement.  Shannon reveals the magic that happens when they take their greens out into the community, and she describes the encouraging conversations that educate and bring people together, as well as the love of community that inspires them to grow and sell healthy, nutritious food.Shannon Owen and her husband, Chris, are the Co-Owners at Cheshire Curiosities MicroFarm & Homestead located in Evansville, Indiana. In 2020, they converted their basement to a commercial grow room with a heart for developing nutrient-dense food in their area by growing microgreens! With this newfound focus, they began a mission to feed their community by bringing healthy options to their local region. Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2021/12/31/652-shannon-owen/ for show notes and links.Educational Gaps in Nutrition Density.

A chat with Raymond Jess.  In This Garden Chat: Farmer Greg talks with Raymond Jess and Janis Norton, from the Urban Farm, about a multitude of variations on the traditional garden box.  They share their own experiences and discuss the unique advantages of each type of bed, covering topics such as how they work, how to set them up, and how to care for them.  Raymond gives us a peek inside his garden, telling us what he is currently growing and how he is growing it, and Janis tells how to nourish your plants so they thrive.On the last Tuesday every month we host The Urban Farm Garden Chats where Greg Peterson has a relaxed conversation in a Zoom room with a special guest to cover useful gardening topics, and they answer questions from the live listening audience. To join us for the next event, go to www.GardenChat.org or Click HERE to register for the Monthly Garden Chat with Live Q&AOur Special Guest: Raymond Jess is the Urban Farm General Store leader, master gardener, and all around fun guy.  Ray has been gardening for more than two decades and loves to experiment with ways to plant in the ground and in various containers.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2021/12/24/651-garden-chat/ for show notes and links.

Working Toward Bee Conservation and Biodiversity in Urban Areas.In This Podcast:Jennifer Foltz-Sweat opens our eyes to the wide world of bees.  By now many of us have heard that bees are a crucial element of the environment, but what should we do with that knowledge?  Jennifer explains easy things we can do to attract bees to our garden and warns us what not to do.  She gives uplifting examples of how important education is to conservation, tells us about the move toward citizen science, and encourages all of us to get involved. Jennifer Foltz-Sweat began researching wild bee ecology in 2002, while a graduate student in California. Her studies focused on determining how wild bee communities differed between grassland habitats and urban areas. She moved back to Arizona, where she grew up, in 2009 and began teaching at Arizona State University West campus and the Maricopa County Community College District. Jennifer continues to conduct research on urban bee communities with her undergraduate students. She is interested in measuring native bee foraging on urban flowering plants and characterizing urban bee communities. Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2021/12/17/650-jennifer-foltz/ for show notes and links.Urban Bee Communities.

Growing Compact and Bountiful Gardens in the Smallest of SpacesIn This Podcast:Jennifer McGuinness’ contagious enthusiasm for gardening will have you pining to grow something.  No space? No problem!  Jen has found creative ways to grow food in small spaces.  She gives us a taste of the small space gardening projects we’ll find in her new book and she shares the joy she found in writing and taking the photos for it.  Jen tells about her website, describes all the things she loves about gardening, and revels in her current role in the gardening community.Jennifer McGuinness began regularly writing as Frau Zinnie in 2011 on her garden blog, FrauZinnie.com. The website features Jen’s writing, photography, personal experiences in her garden located in Connecticut, and interviews with garden experts. She is a proponent of organic methods and pollinator-friendly gardens, and excited about her first published book “Micro Food Gardening: Project plans and plants for growing fruits and veggies in tiny spaces”.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2021/12/10/649-jennifer-mcguinness/ for show notes and links.Micro Food Gardening.

Returning to Living As We Were Designed.In This Podcast:Listen as Tony Horn shows us where to look and what to do to rediscover peace in our lives.  Tony shares his key definition of peace and his vision of a beautiful world where humans are once again living as nature intended.   He explains that the biggest human struggles we face today have surfaced recently and are of our own making, but he believes we do have the power to eliminate these problems.  First, though, we must wake up, gather together, and be willing to change.Tony is an educator and author. He has taught both junior high and college students, and has many years of corporate experience as an Instructional Designer.  He is an author of several books including:  The Three R’s: Government for the Way People Live and his most recent book Change or Perish.  He’s also the founder of Community Groove, Inc., a non-profit company dedicated to rebuilding strong communities globally.  He lives in Sun Lakes, AZ where he writes and enjoys playing tennis. Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2021/12/03/648-tony-horn/ for shownotes and links.Living in Harmony.

Exploring Solutions to Current Water Challenges for Farming.In This Podcast:Seth Siegel is passionate about tackling the world’s water problems before they get to crisis level.   He explains the practical steps necessary to put into practice the solutions he has gathered from around the world.  Agriculture is one of the largest consumers of water, but most crops are watered using wasteful methods that are centuries old.  Seth presents a new technological solution that is both effective and cost effective, making it more appealing to commercial farms.  Seth is a serial entrepreneur, water activist, New York Times bestselling author, and the Chief Sustainability Officer for N-Drip. His critically acclaimed award-winning book Let There Be Water: Israel’s Solution for a Water-Starved World has been published in 20 languages and is on sale in more than 50 countries. His other books are Troubled Water: What's Wrong with What We Drink, and Other People’s Words all produced by St Martin’s Press.  In addition to his books, his commentary on a range of topics has appeared in many leading publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. Seth has spoken on water issues at more than 325 venues in 68 cities, 26 states, and on four continents–and during the Coronavirus lockdown, to dozens of others via video. For his work in communicating water needs, he was named one of the 100 Global Water Heroes.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2021/11/26/647-seth-siegel/ for shownotes and links.Water Scarcity in Agricultural Areas.